The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

remained human grabbed her sleeve and kept her from retreating out the gate.
    Another steed—taller and stockier than the beasts that had come with the Rovers—blocked the exit. Its sides heaved as if it had run a long distance. She’d not shove it aside without help, not for a while yet anyway.
    “You can leave this cursed place with me,” she said flatly, shoving her way through the crowded courtyard. Ghosts began appearing among the steeds. She bounced away from them into more animals, dogs and chickens as well as the pack beasts.
    “No, I can’t leave. They have my son. I can’t find him without your help, and I won’t leave him with these people.”
    “A child?” Vareena stopped short, heart aching for the lost souls condemned to this place. Why had this man been spared but not his son?
    “My son is still a baby, a tiny baby with black hair and brilliant blue eyes. Please help me find him. Please help me to hold him one more time before this terrible curse takes him from me forever.” The man who had appeared so confident when he walked through the gate looked helpless now. A great deal of pain and longing poured out of his eyes.
    “Vareena!” Marcus pelted out of the library into the courtyard. “Vareena, don’t leave me, please. I need you. I love you,” he panted as he skidded to a halt scant inches from her.
    “Marcus?” Vareena peered at his insubstantial form, not certain she had heard him correctly.
    “Yes, Vareena. I love you. I have from the moment I first saw you. Please stay. I can find an answer to this problem. I know I can.” He rammed his right fist into the pocket of is trews while his left hand reached out tentatively as if to brush a stray lock of hair from her brow. A sharp tingle of energy repulsed him before he made contact with her.
    “No, Marcus, you do not love me. You can’t.” Not Marcus, her heart wailed. Why couldn’t it be Robb? ’Tis Robb I love. Will always love.
    Having acknowledged her attraction to the dark-haired magician, she knew she could not abandon Robb or his friend now. She needed to see this through to the end, even if she remained here the rest of her life, like her mother, and her mother’s mother before her.
    Once cursed by the monastery and the hoard of gold, the women of her family were cursed forever.
    Her last hope of freedom slid away.

Chapter 33
     
    “M aking your own luck doesn’t always work,” Marcus said as he trudged back to the library from Vareena’s side. She’d stay to help. Now he needed to stay by Robb until his friend also figured out the source of the curse.
    He watched the Rovers step through the constant veil of mist into his reality. His heart lodged in his throat. How could he push Robb to discover the secret with all of these Rovers complicating things?
    “This is bad luck for all of us,” Robb agreed.
    The hair on the back of Marcus’ neck stood on end. An unnatural chill climbed his spine. He whipped around to face the ghost of Ackerly. The misty form coalesced into a nearly solid being. His aura pulsed brighter as he sped across the massive library, sacrificial knife raised over his head.
    “He’s a Bloodmage,” Robb hissed. “He gains power from inflicting pain and drawing blood!”
    “Zolltarn, look out!” Marcus called. He dove for the Rover, knocking him to the ground. Ackerly’s knife sliced through the air where Zolltarn’s neck had been. In the same movement, Marcus drew Zolltarn’s long dagger and turned on the ghost.
    “Eat iron!” he yelled, stabbing at the air around him.
    A wail of pain and frustration pierced his ears. He wanted to clutch his ears and curl into a fetal ball but dared not shift his attention away from the knife. The ghostly sound faded.
    An eerie silence fell upon the library. No one moved. No one breathed.
    “M-my thanks, young magician,” Zolltarn said. He remained on the flagstone floor staring about him, eyes wide, showing more white than black. He tried working his mouth into one of his engaging smiles and failed. “I owe you my life and my soul.”
    Marcus nodded but kept searching for the ghost.
    “Best we all retreat,” Robb said, ushering the Rovers away from the gold.
    One young man sneered at Robb, still clutching an awkward double handful of coins.
    “Go!” Zolltarn said, resuming his natural authority over his people. “The gold will still be here tomorrow.”
    “And many tomorrows after that,” Marcus muttered.
    “Unless my luck